Bruce Perry can't escape the feeling. He remembers what it was like standing on the sidelines, in warm-ups, just watching. He knows some people wondered why he wasn't playing, why he wasn't tough enough.

They couldn't see the ripped groin muscle with a hole so big you stick a finger in it. They couldn't see the lingering affects of a pulled abdominal muscle suffered in the 2002 Orange Bowl. And they couldn't feel the pain in the shoulder.

	Bruce Perry is ready to return to his 2001 form where he gained 1,242 yards.

Everyone seemed to forget Perry rushed for 1,242 yards and 10 TDs in 2001 and led the Terps to the ACC title and an Orange Bowl bid. There weren't casts, splints or crutches. Instead, just questions.

"People are entitled to their opinion, no doubt," Perry said. "But they couldn't know what was going on, they couldn't see everything. But my teammates knew, my coaches knew. Not being able to play, not being able to be on the field hurt, but I just focused my attention on trying to help us win anyway I could."

So he became a mentor while he rehabbed. He worked with the younger backs. If he couldn't do it, maybe he could help them carry the load.

"Sometimes you learn better when you have it to teach," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. "You're forced to sit there, see how others do what you know how to do so well."

But while Perry tutored, he also trained. He was determined to get back on the field and when he averaged 4.7 yards a carry and set up the game's first TD in the Terps' 30-3 rout of Tennessee in the Peach Bowl, well, that was all the motivation it took entering offseason workouts.

He was a regular in the weight room, adding 15 pounds of muscle on his 5-foot-9 frame and now checks in at 205 pounds. He shed the jersey that deemed him untouchable in the spring. He took hits, but gave plenty back. He flew around the practice field, slapping high fives, giving tips to the younger backs, enjoying the moment.

"He had the best spring he's had since he's been at Maryland." Friedgen said. "He looked great on the field, but he's also matured into a leader."

With an offense that features returning QB Scott McBrien as well as depth at tailback in Josh Allen (who averaged 6.8 ypc last season) and Ohio State transfer Sam Maldonado, this is an offense that will score some points. While the Terps fared just fine without Perry last season, his return may be the boost that returns Maryland to a BCS bowl.

"He's scary," said Duke defensive coordinator Ted Roof. "He's the kind of guy who can take it the distance every time he touches the ball. You don't want to be in the open field with him. You go one-on-one with him and you could break an ankle."

"He has size and speed. He has it all," said NC State DB Andre Maddox. "You can't forget about Perry."

See, not everyone forgot about him.

Joe Wojciechowski is the college football editor at ESPN.com. He can be reached at joseph.j.wojciechowski@espn3.com.